Highway 3 widening results in new water pipeline for Belfair

BELFAIR — The Belfair Water District is nearly ready to go out to bid for a $1.9 million pipeline replacement project that would affect almost the entire core of downtown Belfair.

The water district plans to replace 8,300 feet of 8-inch asbestos concrete water line with 12-inch ductile iron pipe beneath Highway 3, from Ridge Point Boulevard near McDonald’s to Sweetwater Creek at the Mary E. Theler Community Center.

The project will also swap out 24 of the district’s outdated fire hydrants and replace several service lines that connect to the main line on Highway 3.

The pipeline project is necessitated by the Washington State Department of Transportation’s plans to widen Highway 3 and create center turn lanes, paved shoulders and sidewalks on both sides of the highway.

WSDOT has instructed utility companies — including Mason County Public Utility District No. 3, the Belfair Water District, CenturyLink, Wave Broadband and Cascade Natural Gas — to move any utilities in the affected areas by Nov. 1.

Bellevue engineering firm Roth Hill completed the water district’s project design, and district commissioners authorized manager Tom Peadon to go out to bid at a July 16 special meeting.

However, the district needs to wait for the state’s final design for the Highway 3 widening project to finalize before the water district can proceed with its own project, Peadon said.

“We’re struggling with that Nov. 1 deadline because if the state makes additional changes, it’s difficult for us to really key in on our project,” he said. “As soon as we can get the final design from the state on the exact layout of where their stormwater system is going to go, then we can move ahead.”

WSDOT has received utility relocation plans from all of the affected Belfair utilities, but it will take some time to review the plans and finalize the project, said Karen Boone, assistant project engineer for the Highway 3 widening project.

“Right now, we are actively working with all the utilities to make sure there are not any conflicts with the relocation plans,” she said. “It can take some time, but we’re working as expeditiously as we can.”

WSDOT plans to go out to bid on Nov. 12 for the first phase of the widening project, which will extend from milepost 27.08 near McDonald’s to milepost 25.36 just south of Belfair Elementary.

Phase II of the project is underfunded but would widen the highway from milepost 25.36 to the junction of Highways 3 and 106.

The first working day of construction is scheduled for next spring, Boone said.

However, property owners and businesses will likely see construction activity this fall, perhaps as soon as within the next month, as utilities work toward replacing their lines, Boone said.

The water district’s project could take up to 100 days to complete once construction starts, and the district is anxious to get started, Peadon said.

“It’s something that we definitely need to do,” he said. “It will be a real improvement in the Belfair Water District water system. It will give the community better water quality and also better fire protection.”